First tenant moves into redeveloped Allentown landmark

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The company is the first tenant to take occupancy of the former Schoen’s Furniture Store, which has been vacant since 1990.

Within the City of Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone, the property is a mixed-use facility that includes a street-level restaurant, loft-style office space on the second through sixth floors and a rooftop terrace.

Trifecta occupies space on the fourth through sixth floors, in addition to the rooftop terrace.

Built in 1910, the property is owned by Jeff and Doug Brown, principals of Charles Street Capital, and Douglas Pelletier, founder and CEO of Trifecta Technologies.

One of the highlights of the space includes a dog loft for Pelletier’s two Labrador retrievers. A New York-style fire escape allows the dogs to scramble up to the loft, which is above his office, he said.

Describing the look as a vintage industrial design with a lot of glass, steel and wood, Pelletier said the company moved 68 employees downtown and has desk space for 82, for a potential total of 114 Trifecta employees.

“The plan is to add another 32 employees; that’s what the layout is designed for,” Pelletier said this morning.

Trifecta Technologies occupies close to 20,000 square feet of space on the fourth through sixth floors. Trifecta is the building’s anchor tenant.

Shane Patrick Associates, construction manager for the project, will occupy the third floor and fit it out to look similar to Trifecta’s office space, Pelletier said.

The estimated total cost of renovations is $8 million to $10 million, he said.

He said it would be several weeks before Shane Patrick moves in.

Pelletier said he considered looking elsewhere but decided on downtown Allentown after meeting with City Center Investment Corp. CEO J.B. Reilly and representatives from this company. City Center is behind hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment and new buildings in Allentown’s downtown.

“City Center and his team really sold me on the idea of coming downtown,” Pelletier said.

Trifecta has hired many younger workers who are attracted to a city environment, he said.

“They want that urban environment, they want that city vibe,” Pelletier said. “For hiring young people, this was good traction.”

About six employees joined Trifecta because they liked the progressive view of the company, he added.

In addition to patronizing local businesses, restaurants and bars, Trifecta employees will be adopting the neighborhood, Pelletier said. The company donated more than a thousand books and other materials to nearby Jefferson Elementary School and is increasing its volunteering efforts with the school.

The first floor space is ideal for a restaurant, particularly for employees who can go downstairs for lunch, Pelletier said.

“We’ve been talking with one restaurant owner/operator for 18 months but we’ve yet to solidify a contract,” he said.